The Software Heritage Archive, the universal repository of software source code, has been officially recognized as a digital public good (DPG) by the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA). This is not merely a label; it’s a verification that the Archive adheres to the stringent DPG Standard, demanding total transparency, legal compliance, and a direct contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

After meeting the nine indicators and requirements of the DPGA standard, the Archive is now listed in the Digital Public Goods Registry. Beyond a badge of compliance, this is a recognition that the Archive is much more than a storage project: it’s a functional, foundational pillar of the global digital ecosystem.. This status formally acknowledges the Archive as a global digital commons, ensuring that the world’s software knowledge remains a shared resource rather than becoming dependent on proprietary platforms.

This commitment is mirrored by Software Heritage’s recent endorsement of the UN Open Source Principles, reinforcing a consistent commitment to openness, transparency, and long-term stewardship across the UN system and beyond.

“Source code is the bedrock of modern innovation, yet it remains endangered knowledge. Establishing the Archive as a digital public good reinforces the principle that software is a shared heritage of humanity. This is a foundational resource that must be preserved with the same rigor as our physical libraries to ensure the continuity of technical knowledge for future generations,” says Roberto Di Cosmo, Director of Software Heritage.

A decade of scale: 27 billion files and counting

The recognition comes as Software Heritage marks its 10th anniversary in 2026. Over the last decade, the project has built a perennial, resilient infrastructure necessary for the long-term sustainability of the global software ecosystem.

*State of the Software Heritage Archive, January 2026. *

The Archive now protects over 27 billion unique source files from 421 million projects. Maintaining this level of preservation requires ingesting an average of 1.3 full projects every single second. This massive, continuous operation ensures that the “executable history” of humanity remains protected from the volatility of commercial platforms and the threat of digital disappearance.

Solving the 2PB problem

Scaling to this magnitude presented a significant technical barrier: as the Archive hit the 2-petabyte mark in 2025, massive-scale code analysis became nearly impossible for standard academic labs.

To solve this, the Software Heritage team, in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano and Télécom Paris, deployed new compression protocols that compressed 78TB of raw graph data into a 3TB research dataset. By making planetary-scale software history analyzable with standard research infrastructure, Software Heritage enables new forms of scientific, economic, and policy insight that were previously out of reach.

Strategic alignment

The Software Heritage Archive provides a permanent, searchable ledger of source code—an indispensable tool for accountability and transparency. By providing a unique, persistent identifierfor every piece of code, the Software Hash IDentifier (SWHID) ensures full traceability and eliminates the risk of digital decay. The SWHID was granted ISO/IEC international standard 18670 in 2025. Combined with its ISO-standardized identifiers, this DPG recognition positions Software Heritage as a foundational layer for trustworthy digital infrastructures worldwide.

As a digital public good, the Archive provides an inclusive foundation for our shared future. It ensures the code powering our world remains a global commons—sustained by academia, government, and industry—rather than a proprietary secret.

Watch live: Exploring open infrastructure as a digital public good

The recognition comes as Software Heritage prepares to mark its tenth anniversary with the Summit and Symposium at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on January 28, 2026, bringing together researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and institutions to reflect on software as a shared digital public good — and on the responsibilities that come with preserving it for future generations.

Can’t make it to Paris? Catch the session “Open Infrastructure as a DPGs” online — 14:30–15:30 (Paris time, GMT+1). Gratis with registration.